Slip and Fall Injury Walmart Law Suit Victory in Port St Lucie

Gloria Seidule won a $1,287,144 Slip and Fall Injury law suit against Walmart in a negligent maintenance and assembly case against
Walmart on February 7, 2013. Walmart
appealed and lost. In addition to the jury verdict, Gloria Seidule’s client
recovered attorney’s fees, costs and interest for a total recovery of
$1,548,297.73. The jury found Walmart negligently assembled and maintained a
Gatorade sign that had fallen to the floor causing Tom Papakalodoukas, age 41,
to violently fall to the ground tearing his biceps tendon in his right dominant
arm.

Case Evidence

The evidence showed Walmart discarded the display sign after
the fall even though it knew from store surveillance the display was the reason
the sign fell causing serious injury to their customer. Walmart then defended the case claiming the
display had been properly assembled and maintained. Walmart then blamed Gatorade for providing
plastic screws that could easily brake to attach the sign to the display.

Attorney Gloria Seidule countered Walmart’s defense by
presenting evidence, provided by the national Gatorade headquarters in Dallas,
Texas, that if assembled properly, in accordance with Gatorade directions, the
sign could not have fallen to the ground.
If the screws broke or came loose, it was Walmart’s duty to maintain the
sign to ensure the safety of their customers.

Due to Walmart’s failure to preserve the Gatorade display,
the Court instructed the jury that it could infer negligence if it found the
incident would not normally happen absent negligence and the display was in the
exclusive control of Walmart.

Jury Deliberation in Walmart Slip and Fall Injury Case

The Jury deliberated 4 hours and found Walmart 90% at fault
for the severe injuries of its customer. Mr. Papakalodoukas has endured three
major surgeries in two years due to the negligence of Wal-Mart. During the
final surgery, doctors inserted a cadaver achilles tendon into his arm to
assist in restoring strength optimal function.

Walmart hired Dr. Zeide, an orthopedist commonly hired by
Walmart and other defendants on the Treasure
Coast, to opine Mr.
Papakalodoukas was not injured in the violent fall, and that all of his surgeries
were due to an existing disease. Dr.
Zeide has never seen the patient, nor did he know what his current condition
was. Instead, Dr. Zeide based his opinion on medical records of other doctors
from the past. However, when cross-examined, Dr Zeide admitted Mr.
Papakalodoukas did not have any tendon or shoulder pain before the fall and
that the pain started after the fall. Dr. Zeide admitted he was no longer a
surgeon even though the first line on his resume states “Orthopedic Surgery”. Dr. Zeide offered an opinion Mr.
Papakalodoukas could work, even though the patient’s own treating surgeon had
not yet cleared him for work.

Mr. Papakalodoukas
has been left with a lifelong defect called a “popeye deformity,” which is a
malformed right bulging bicep tendon that creates abnormal bulges on his
arm. Due to this fact, he has not been
able to return to his former work as a beverage distribution manager.

Walmart Found Responsible for this Injury

Through
the efforts of Gloria Seidule, her client received a 1.287 million dollar
verdict after the jury found Walmart was responsible for failing to keep its
store clean and safe for its customers. Walmart denied liability and blamed her
client for his injury. She was able to prove that Walmart failed to preserve
evidence and was at fault for the sign falling to the floor causing very
serious injuries to her client.

If you've been injured in a slip and fall injury call The Law Off of Gloria Seidule for a free consultation and case evaluation.

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Settlement, award and verdict amounts for case results found on our site may be prior to reduction for attorney’s fees, expenses and comparative negligence reductions or costs and payments, if any, to medical providers, health insurers, Medicare or Medicaid. Results may not be typical. You may not have as beneficial result.